The world is warming faster than at any point in recorded history. This is radically changing the Earth’s climate and releasing a wave of extreme weather, including wildfires, hurricanes, floods and droughts. But humanity can still avoid the worst impacts of this climate crisis. To do that, the Earth’s temperature must be prevented from rising to more than 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels. The only way to avoid catastrophic climate change is to rapidly slash our emissions of planet-warming greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide. These emissions, which come largely from burning fossil fuels, have continued to rise in recent decades despite a raft of international accords, including the Paris Agreement. To keep the 1.5°C temperature target alive, the world needs to cut 2030 emissions by 42 per cent. This must be done in tandem with climate adaptation. National Adaptation Plans in particular, are crucial for ensuring climate resilience is built into each of the sectors. By 2025, every country must commit to new National Determined Contributions (NDCs), these NDCs must cover all emissions and sectors. Global ambition in the next round of NDCs must bring global greenhouse gas emissions in 2035 to levels consistent with the 1.5°C pathway. Explore these factsheets to learn how.
Oxford-based startup Mistify AI has developed a solar-powered system that uses artificial intelligence to detect and remove PM2.5 and PM10 dust particles before they spread. This technology could dramatically reduce health risks on construction sites while supporting sustainable construction practices. By addressing air quality in dense urban areas, it also highlights how digital innovation contributes to environmental sustainability in construction and sets a precedent for integrating eco-design for buildings into site operations.
In Finland, researchers are developing nanoscale metasurfaces that regulate building surface temperatures by reflecting or trapping heat. This innovation could lower energy use for heating and cooling, directly reducing the whole life carbon of buildings. With the built environment contributing almost 40% of global carbon emissions, such progress underlines the importance of whole life carbon assessment and life cycle cost analysis in sustainable building design and energy-efficient buildings.
Efforts to decarbonise commercial real estate are accelerating, with the Urban Land Institute advancing strategies for large-scale retrofitting and adoption of green building standards. Investors are demanding measurable climate performance, driving the sector towards low carbon design and net zero whole life carbon targets. The focus on embodied carbon in materials and building lifecycle performance signals a shift towards circular economy in construction and greater reliance on lifecycle assessment to inform investment decisions.
Corporate-led sustainability initiatives continue to reshape industrial assets. Mars announced a €1 billion programme across its European facilities to upgrade operations with renewable energy, improved water efficiency, and low carbon construction materials. Though not limited to construction, the strategy involves substantial facility transformation, demonstrating how sustainable building practices embedded in corporate infrastructure investment can influence broader trends in green construction and carbon neutral construction.
In Japan, scrutiny of the national carbon trading scheme has raised concerns about the credibility of construction-related offsets. Projects such as LED retrofits or forest preservation are being counted toward Article 6.2 targets, sparking debate about their real contribution to carbon footprint reduction. These developments reinforce the urgent need for decarbonising the built environment through verified end-of-life reuse in construction, resource efficiency in construction, and genuine low embodied carbon materials, rather than relying on questionable offsets.
At policy level, the EU’s failure to agree new climate standards obstructs progress on building codes and retrofit schemes. This lack of regulatory clarity delays action that would strengthen sustainable material specification and environmental product declarations (EPDs). Without binding targets, ambitions for net zero carbon buildings and sustainable urban development will falter, leaving green building materials and circular construction strategies underutilised across the sector.
Whole Life Carbon is a platform for the entire construction industry—both in the UK and internationally. We track the latest publications, debates, and events related to whole life guidance and sustainability. If you have any enquiries or opinions to share, please do
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